Method and apparatus for processing data in a communication system

• US 20060023731A1
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Asbun, Eduardo
• Application Number:
  US10/901,757
• Publication Number:
  US 20060023731A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/432
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1863 comprising mechanisms for improved reliability, e.g. status reports arrangements for detecting or preventing errors by carrying supervisory signal the return channel H04L1/16

Abstract

Method and apparatus for processing data received from a network is described. In one example, a data frame is received from the network. Identification data is obtained from the data frame at a data link layer (e.g., Ethernet layer) to determine whether the data frame is a multicast frame. A checksum value is verified at a network layer (e.g., internet protocol layer) in response to the data frame being a multicast frame. Data is extracted from a payload of a transport layer immediately following verification of the checksum value.

Claims

1. A method of processing data received from a network, comprising:

receiving a data frame from said network;

obtaining identification data from said data frame at a data link layer to determine whether said data frame is a multicast frame;

verifying a checksum value at a network layer in response to said data frame being a multicast frame to produce a verified data frame; and

extracting data from a payload of a transport layer directly from said verified data frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said data is extracted from said payload without performing steps of network layer options processing, destination/forwarding address verification, and defragmentation after said checksum value is verified.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said data is extracted from said payload without version verification, header length verification, byte ordering verification, and packet length verification after said checksum value is verified.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said data is extracted from said payload without transport layer checksum verification after said checksum value is verified.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said identification data comprises a destination address defined in accordance with said network layer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said identification data further comprises a destination port number associated an application.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

repeating said steps of receiving, obtaining, verifying, and extracting for one or more additional data frames.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said data frame comprises an Ethernet frame, and wherein said data link layer comprises an Ethernet layer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said network layer comprises an internet protocol layer and said transport layer comprises a user datagram protocol layer.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing said extracted data to an application layer.

11. A method of communication between a plurality of video encoders and a transport stream processor, comprising:

transmitting first multicast frames into a network from said plurality of video encoders, said first multicast frames including statistical data;

receiving data frames from said network at said transport stream processor;

obtaining identification data from each of said data frames at a data link layer to identify said first multicast frames;

verifying a checksum value at a network layer for each of said first multicast frames to produce verified multicast frames; and

extracting data from a payload of a transport layer directly from each of said verified multicast frames.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting second multicast frames into said network from said transport stream processor, each of said second multicast frames including bit-rate allocation data for said plurality of video encoders.

13. Apparatus for processing data received from a network, comprising:

a network interface for receiving data frames from said network; and

a processor for obtaining identification data from each of said data frames at a data link layer to identify multicast frames, verifying a checksum value at a network layer for each of said multicast frames to produce verified multicast frames, and extracting data from a payload of a transport layer directly from said verified multicast frames.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said identification data comprises a destination address defined in accordance with said network layer.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said identification data further comprises a destination port number.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said network interface comprises an Ethernet interface, said data frames comprise Ethernet frames, and said data link layer comprises an Ethernet layer.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said network layer comprises an internet protocol layer and said transport layer comprises a user datagram protocol.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said processor comprises a quantization level processor and said extracted data comprises parametric data associated with a video encoder.

19. A communication system, comprising:

a data network;

a plurality of source elements for providing multicast frames into said data network;

a destination element in communication with said data network, said destination element including;

a network interface for receiving data frames from said data network; and

a processor for obtaining identification data from each of said data frames at a data link layer to identify said multicast frames, verifying a checksum value at a network layer for each of said multicast frames to produce verified multicast frames, and extracting data from a payload of a transport layer directly from said verified multicast frames.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein each of said plurality of source elements comprises a video encoder, and wherein said destination element comprises a transport stream processor.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said processor comprises a quantization level processor, and wherein said extracted data comprises parametric data associated with one of said plurality of video encoders.

22. A computer readable carrier including program instructions that instruct a computer to perform a method of:

receiving a data frame from said network;

obtaining identification data from said data frame at a data link layer to determine whether said data frame is a multicast frame;

verifying a checksum value at a network layer in response to said data frame being a multicast frame to produce a verified data frame; and

extracting data from a payload of a transport layer directly from said verified data frame.